northlincs.gov.uk

319 (49) VIREMENTS 2009 – 2010 – The Service Director Finance submitted a report seeking approval for changes to the revenue budget for 2009-10.

On 25 February 2009 Council approved the revenue and capital budgets for 2009/2010 financial year (minute 1690 refers). Since then various developments had been approved which needed to be reflected in the budget to assist proper financial control. The report gave details of virements approved by the Service Director Finance under delegated powers and those that required Cabinet Member approval.

Resolved – (a) That the virements at paragraph 3.1 of the report, approved by the Service Director Finance under delegated powers be noted, and (b) that the permanent virements outlined in paragraph 3.2 of the report be approved.

320 (50) GRADING PROCEDURE – The Service Director Human Resources submitted a report seeking approval to revisions to the council’s Grading Procedure.

The Grading Procedure formed part of the council’s Human Resources (HR) Manual and was last reviewed on 25 June 2004 with minor amendments being made 1 April 2007. The procedure provided a method of evaluating posts using both the Great London Provincial Council (GLPC) and HAY job evaluation schemes for NJC and JNC posts respectively. There was no change to the two schemes that the council used to evaluate posts.

Currently all NJC evaluations under the GLPC scheme required a panel of three trained staff to evaluate a job description. HR wished to revise the process by introducing an electronic system to grade posts. The system had been designed to meet the standards of the GLPC scheme and had been approved by them.

Evaluating a post using the electronic grading method would require the manager to write a summarised job description and then complete a job evaluation questionnaire. The answers that the manager provided were then fed in the electronic system which provided the evaluation for the post. A GLPC scheme trained HR Officer would provide support to the manager.

The proposed procedure would no longer require an evaluation panel of three officers to evaluate the post. The electronic system required just one member of staff. The change would provide a saving in both staff time and travel costs incurred when convening panels.

Resolved – That the revised procedure for job evaluations of NJC posts, with effect from 1 January 2010, be approved and adopted.

321 (51) REVISED HUMAN RESOURCES (HR) DOCUMENTS – The Service Director Human Resources submitted a report seeking approval for revisions to two HR documents.

The Working Time policy had been reviewed following an audit, which highlighted that some elements of the Working Time Regulations 1998 (as amended) were not sufficiently detailed.

The revised policy set out clearly the provisions of the Working Time Regulations 1998 (as amended) to ensure that standard working arrangements across the council took account of entitlements to daily and weekly rest periods etc. The policy also addressed the process for employees wishing to take up additional employment.

The Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) Discretionary Options and Compensation for Termination of Employment policy had been amended to take account of two recent developments in the LGPS.

The first concerned the retirement in the interest of the efficiency of the service. There were now two options available, one actuarially protected the employee’s pension (which was the current practice), the other offered an actuarially reduced pension.

The second option was less advantageous to the employee but was considerably less expensive. It could be offered when it would not otherwise be possible to provide sufficient savings to fund retirement within the required two year period. The second amended also added flexible retirement.

Resolved – That the revised policies be approved and adopted.

322 (52) ASSET MANAGEMENT AND CULTURE SERVICE PLAN 2009/12 – The Service Director Asset Management and Culture submitted a report seeking approval for the Asset Management and Culture service plan 2009/12.

The service plan set out the priorities, targets and areas of development for the Asset Management and Culture service over the next three years. It identified the service’s contribution to the council’s priorities and how the service aligned with the ambitions of the council.

It also demonstrated how priorities would be achieved and how performance would be measured. The plan detailed key outcomes to show what the service aimed to achieve for the council. Progress against priorities and outcomes would be reviewed at monthly and quarterly meetings and reviews.

Resolved – That the Asset Management and Culture service plan 2009/12 be approved and adopted.

323 (53) CREATION OF ‘FIT FOR FOOTBALL CO-ORDINATOR’ POST – The Service Director Neighbourhood and Environment submitted a report seeking approval to create a new post, based within the Health Improvement and Partnerships Team, to administer and co-ordinate the Fit for Football scheme.

Fit For Football was established in 2003, specifically at that time to address healthy lifestyle issues for children in disadvantaged communities in the Humber area, through the provision of fun, interactive games. The project had worked in partnership with three Football in the Community schemes – Hull City, Scunthorpe United and Grimsby Town.

The project had now developed a comprehensive package of Fit For Football training and support, resource materials, monitoring and evaluation which was available to other Football in the Community schemes. North Lincolnshire Council had the rights to the use of the Fit for Football brand and income from the sale and any associated merchandise.

The training element of the package was currently delivered by the Health Promotion Officer from the Health Improvement team, supported on a goodwill basis by three other staff members.

Resolved – That the creation of the post of Fit for Football Co-ordinator be approved.

The following items contain exempt information as defined in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).

324 (54) RESTRUCTURE OF FLEET PROVISION DIVISION – The Service Director Neighbourhood and Environment submitted a report seeking support for a revised organisational structure within the Fleet Provision division.

It was proposed to restructure the Fleet Provision division as a result of two independent reports by the Freight Transport Association and the impact of the impending move to a new depot in Grange Lane North.

Further details along with current and proposed structures were set out in appendices to the report.

Resolved – That the implementation of the proposed structure shown at Appendix 2 of the report be approved.

325 (55) CATERING AND CLEANING DIVISION REVISED STRUCTURE – The Service Director Neighbourhood and Environment submitted a report seeking approval for a restructure of the catering and cleaning division.

Following a request for flexible retirement for one post and a vacancy in another, the opportunity for a restructure had presented itself.

Further details were set out in the report.

Resolved – That the proposed restructure as set out in the report and its appendices be approved.

326 (56) DOORSTEPPING INITIATIVE – The Service Director Neighbourhood and Environment submitted a report seeking approval for the continued employment of the Recycling Officers.

The report detailed the activities and achievements of the Recycling Officers employed within the Waste Management Division of Neighbourhood and Environmental Services (NES).

The Recycling Officer posts were created for a two year fixed term appointment following a reorganisation of NES at the beginning of 2008. Their specific remit was to increase awareness of and active participation in the recycling schemes operating throughout North Lincolnshire. This was achieved partly through an intensive campaign of ‘Doorstepping’ i.e. direct face-to-face contact with occupiers of domestic property.

Resolved – That the retention of both Recycling Officers as permanent staff members on existing terms and conditions, as set out in the report, be approved.

327 (57) MANAGEMENT OF LEARNER DATA AND FINANCIAL MATTERS – The Service Director Children and Young People’s Service submitted a report seeking to consider the regrading of the posts of Finance Officer and Management Information Systems (MIS)/Examinations Officer within the Adult Education Service.

Following the restructuring of the Adult Education Service in 2005 significant progress had been made in managing cost and attracting additional funding to resolve budget shortfalls, ensuring that the service could manage financial risk and maintain financial viability. A new post of MIS/Examinations Officer was created and this post, together with the present Finance Officer, took over the responsibilities of the previous Service Support Manager.

The Head and Deputy Head of Service post were amalgamated resulting in the need for the two posts to take on additional duties that supported this role. The changing nature of service provision and the demands of the Learning and Skills Council for increasing accountability had also resulted in both posts taking greater responsibility for the management of learner data and financial matters.

Resolved – That the proposals to regrade the posts of Finance Officer and Management Information Systems/Examinations Officer, as set out in the report, be approved.

328 (58) AIM 2: TRAVEL CHOICE REVIEW – The Service Director Highways and Planning submitted a report seeking approval to make changes to the staffing structure of Aim 2 Travel Choice and to update job descriptions to reflect additional/changed responsibilities.

The Travel Choice’s structure was last reviewed in 2004. Several changes had taken place since then, these included the retirement of the Public Transport Officer and the transfer of the council’s Chauffeur Service into Travel Choice. In addition the roles and responsibilities of several posts had evolved in that time and job descriptions had been reviewed and amended accordingly.

Further details and the current and proposed Travel Choice structures were shown in the report and its appendices.

Resolved – That the proposals, as set out in the report and accompanying appendices, be approved.

329 (59) PROPERTY TRANSACTION SCHEDULE – The Service Director Asset Management and Culture submitted a report for consideration, and where necessary approval, of a schedule containing the terms of all recently negotiated property transactions.

Resolved – That the schedule appended to the report be approved.

Note: Reports are in Portable Document Format (PDF) and therefore require a suitable reader to view them. A reader can be downloaded free from the Adobe website (full instructions for downloading the reader are provided on the site).

Where there is no report this is because it is exempt, as it contains information which is considered to be of a confidential nature, as detailed in the Local Government (Access to Information) Act.